iPhone 16 review: Why I’m recommending this model over the Pro this year

for the past few months, and they’ve easily unseated last year’s iPhone 15 series as the handsets I recommend to most people. Considering it’s the iPhone 16 that we’re talking about, perhaps I shouldn’t be as surprised by the polish and familiarity.

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Once you factor in all the new features, including the Action button, Camera Control, and incoming Apple Intelligence, the standard iPhones feel more capable than ever — so much so that I’m not feeling much Pro model FOMO this time around. It helps that they look fantastic, with bold and tasteful colors that most people will be drawn to as soon as they walk inside an Apple store. I saw it with my own eyes on launch day.

With this year’s standard iPhones, Apple is taking what I’d like to call the “Sibling” strategy. You know how the older sibling tends to get all the latest and greatest things first — shirts, toys, and shoes? After a year, or when the excitement for something wears off, it’s passed down to the younger sibling, so what’s old is new again. That’s exactly what Apple has done with last year’s iPhone 15 Pro model and this year’s iPhone 16, and I don’t mind that at all. 

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The new Action button, for example, replaces the physical mute-switch toggle and can be mapped to a unique function, from turning on the flashlight to starting a voice memo to firing up the camera. Of course, you can also set the Action button to switch between alert and silent.

Considering this is the iPhone’s have-it-your-way era, you should really try to embrace the customization freedom here. My Action button is currently set to “turn on AirDrop for 10 minutes” as I’m camera-testing the phone and frequently uploading images and videos to my MacBook. That prompt will likely change by the end of the week, possibly to quick-launch the ESPN app, so that I can catch up on NFL scores and be let down by the Giants again. That’s all part of the beauty of the Action button… and Giants football.

Going into my testing, my biggest concern was whether the placement (or ergonomics) of the Camera Control would spoil what is otherwise a genius feature. Since the key is situated closer to the middle of the side edge (more so if you’re on the smaller iPhone 16), you’re now capturing photos by pressing down with your index finger instead of your thumb. Retraining your muscle memory is required here; I often found myself habitually tapping the screen to focus and capture instead.

The positioning of Camera Control also means that whenever I capture photos in a 16:9 aspect ratio (like the ones for this review), which takes up more viewfinder space, my shutter hand often covers part of the screen. That may be a concern when I’m taking a family photo or of a landscape that spans from one end of the viewfinder to the other, and I want the proper framing.

The iPhone 16 brings together the utility of the ultrawide with the new 48MP Fusion camera (which combines the main with a 2x digital zoom capability) and Photographic Styles that can now be modified before and after the shot (which is a game-changer if you’ve never been a fan of the balanced, low-contrast look of the iPhone’s default color profile). The result is one of the most versatile iPhone camera systems ever. 

Whether it was reproducing the vibrant colors of my dinner in a dimly lit restaurant, extracting details from small succulents, or capturing the controlled chaos of my morning commute, I rarely felt like the iPhone 16 was unable to get the shot.

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I say rarely because there was one evening when I wanted to take a photo of the moon. It appeared closer to the Earth than ever, was glowing in a warm orangish hue, and felt like the perfect photo-op with my family celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival back in September.

Unfortunately, the iPhone 16’s zoom capability, capped at 2x like last year, was barely able to capture the essence of the moment. There was a noticeable amount of noise as I hesitantly dialed up the digital zoom, and, for once, I missed the 5x optical camera on the Pro models.

I’ve been testing the beta, and some AI features are certainly more useful and practical than others. For example, I’m a fan of the new Siri, which leverages ChatGPT to better understand natural language, taking into account stutters, pause fillers, and corrections you make in your prompts. I can ask Siri to show me the AFC standings and follow up with a question specifically about the Giants, and it’ll understand that I’m referencing the football team and not the baseball team.

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Other Apple Intelligence features, like notification summaries, have been hit-or-miss for me. They often oversimplify or misinterpret things, such as when a Threads user’s comment was summarized as “Red iPhone and Google phone is lavender.” Again, I’m on the beta, so most of this should hopefully be fixed via training and software updates. There’s room for recovery.

ZDNET’s buying advice

That’s to say, you shouldn’t buy the iPhone 16. If you value longer battery life and a more immersive viewing experience and are willing to pay $100 more, go with the iPhone 16 Plus